Baking | Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas … sweet indulgence!

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
Ernestine Ulmer

Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas! They weren’t for V Day; coincidentally just got made the same day. Himanshu messaged early in the morning on FB and we began discussing feet, macarons, failed feet, Mactweets and what not. I had a batch of egg whites in the freezer. The egg whites ex the Kumquat & Strawberry Tiramisu Charlotte were frozen for tempting times like this. I had some more frozen ex a batch of lime curd I had made for a recipe feature in Good Housekeeping. Egg whites are sweet creatures, maintenance free, and ever obliging. Happy to be frozen, and equally happy to defrost! I got mac-nostalgic and brought them down. Then the day got real, took on proportions that were very macaron unfriendly…I almost convinced myself to make macarons with the whites, the only problem with the beauties is the high risk of failure. That day had already had a tiring beginning. I was in no mood to punish myself. Besides, I find macarons really pretty to look at but sometimes too sweet to eat. Is it only me? Anyone else?I’ve had Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas on my mind for long! I’ve made others before – Tropical Fruit Pavlovaand Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse, Brandied Cherries and Peaches. However, the doublechocolate ones atWhat Katie Atedance in my head almost every time I see strawberries! Must be something about the V Day over-hype but the passionate red strawberries did shout out to me. India isn’t raspberry country yet something tells me that in the years to come, raspberries and blueberry punnets might flood the market. There was a time when we used to crave good fresh strawberries. Now we are spoilt for choice twice or thrice a year!I made Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas instead. There’s no recipe for chocolate pavlova that is as often used as Nigellas, and I found it a couple of years ago at WKA! If you want to indulge yourself in goodness and spoil yourself silly, look no further …

The Domestic Goddess does it the best, and in indulgent style. Pavlovas are pretty simple creatures. A few basics under your belt and you can churn them out with your eyes shut. Do read Katies post for some pearls of pav wisdom!

Recipe: Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas

Summary: The crisp exterior of meringues, the marshallow gooeyness of chocolate within make these Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas a combination made in heaven. Dark chocolate, whipped cream and balsamic strawberries offer a stunning passionate dessert! Adapted minimally from Nigella.com via What Katie Ate

500ml whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with a 1 tbsp of raw/Castor sugar

Dark chocolate

Method:

Double Chocolate Meringues/Pavlovas

Preheat oven to 180˚C

Place egg whites in the bowl of a mixer and whisk until soft peaks form.

Using a tablespoon at a time, add sugar into egg white mixture and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff and glossy. Be careful not to over-beat as it can start to separate. The mixture is ready once it forms stiff, glossy peaks and you can hold the bowl upside down without any of it falling out.

Sift in the cocoa powder, add the vinegar and chopped up chocolate, using a large spoon slowly and carefully fold these into the egg white and sugar mixture until fully combined. It will be a light brown colour.

Line 2 large, flat oven trays with baking parchment.

Place a 9″ or 10″ dinnerplate on the middle of each tray and draw firmly around the edge with a pencil or pen to form a circle to help keep both pavlovas the same size. Flip the paper over so the ink/pencil lead is touching the tray side as opposed to the pavlova side, you’ll still be able to see the line through the paper. {I made smaller pavs}

Load up each circle with the mixture, smoothing it out to the edge of the line you have just drawn, try to divide the mix equally so both have same volume of mix. A pavlova is not supposed to look perfect so feel free to form a few points and peaks if you want, when cooked they’ll crisp up and add a bit more interest visually.

Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 140˚C. Bake for 1hr to 1hr15mins. Do not open the oven door whilst the pavlova is baking.

The pavlova is cooked when it looks crisp at the edges which will have started to crack slightly. The top will be dry but if you press on the underside it’ll give a little as the centre should be still a little squishy/soft. Place the pavlova back in the oven and leave the door slightly ajar, leave the pavlovato cool completely inside.

Balsamic Strawberries

Place strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan, and simmer till the strawberries become a little squishy yet still retain their shape somewhat. Strain the mixture and reserve the strawberries in a bowl. Return the liquid to the pan and reduce it to a thick sauce. Pour over the strawberries and cool completely. Stir through the Grand Marnier if desired or zest of 1 orange. It becomes thick and jam-like. Cool completely.

Assemble

When the pavlovas are completely cool, place one disc on a serving platter or cake stand and spoon a big wallop of cream on top followed by half the balsamic strawberries, and then place the second meringue disc on top. Again pile on a good amount of cream and the remainder of the balsamic strawberries Grate some dark chocolate over and serve immediately.

I concur that macarons are very pretty to look at, but too sweet to eat! These days I only make a batch every now and then for the lil one who loves them to bit! Pavlova, ironically is yet to be tried on, yours look gorgeous Deeba;-)jehanne@thecookingdoctor´s last blog post ..Hello, London..we are back!

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